


My Heart Beside Me

by sohii



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Assassination Attempt(s), Bedside Vigils, Hurt/Comfort, Kings & Queens, M/M, Snippets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 16:11:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15952898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sohii/pseuds/sohii
Summary: Alec gets caught between an assassin and his king.-A self-indulgent snippet from a story where Magnus is a king and Alec isn't and they're all very dramatic and maybe a bit in love. Then someone tries to stab Magnus but wounds Alec instead and they're even more dramatic?





	My Heart Beside Me

Alec dreams of soft hands and a softer touch, wiping at his brow, his neck, offering a blissful cool that helps him breathe. He remembers a hum, something stuttering and off-key, but it’s better than the blood rushing in his ears, the throb of pain that seems to be everywhere. So he clings to that, wraps his fingers around it, the twitching notes warm in his hand, wrapping around him in turn.

Alec wakes up, really wakes up, without any idea how much time has passed. He lays still for a few minutes, keenly aware that he is alive, before something twitches in his hand. Opening his eyes, he sees Magnus, sprawled on a chair next to the bed. His legs are up on the bed and he’s slid to the very edge of the chair, and his hand is holding onto to Alec’s. He looks tired, scruffy and like he hasn’t had a bath in days and for a moment, Alec’s aches are washed away by relief. Magnus is alive too.

He closes his eyes, intending to only rest them for a second, just enough to brace himself for a deep breath, but when he opens them again Magnus is gone and the sun has set. He can hear hushed voices by the door before it closes and footsteps round the bed. Magnus comes back into view, running a hand through his hair.

“Magnus,” Alec rasps, his throat closing on the word and instinctively Alec coughs, chocking on gasp when pain sears up his side.

“Alexander!” Magnus is on the bed in an instant, on his knees next to Alec as he supports his neck, reaching for the cup of water next to bed. He helps Alec drink, whispering nonsense praise as Alec finishes all of it. His hand rests against Alec’s cheek when he sets the cup back, and Alec wants to cover it with his own. But the pain had brought with it a clarity he had been lacking before.

Magnus opens his mouth, closes it, opens it only to close it again. Briefly he thumbs Alec’s cheek, before settling into a more comfortable position, clearly intending to stay.

“How do you feel?” Magnus asks, a bit clipped but Alec is too tired to match him in this dance, to figure out what any of this means.

“Sore, my lord,” Alec replies and with a gasp Magnus’ bends closer, presses his forehead against Alec’s. Alec blinks, startled, his hand tentatively resting at Magnus’ elbow.

“Please don’t, Alexander, please,” Magnus begs, his thumb stroking Alec’s cheek, his voice chocked. Alexander grips his elbow tighter, slides his hand up Magnus’ arm. He doesn’t know what Magnus is asking for, throat desperately swallowing around nothing.

“I’m sorry, my lord, I don’t understand,” Alec whispers, clutching at Magnus though he knows he’ll have to let go when Magnus pulls away, when he can’t find what he wants in Alec. But for a moment longer Magnus is a comforting warmth pressed gently against him, closer than Alec’s been allowed before.

“Go back,” his king mumbles, “to when I was just ‘Magnus,’ please, Alexander.”

And _oh_ , Alec hadn’t known he could, that it had been welcome, that this is what Magnus wanted to be. And that it was Alec's to give.

“Magnus,” Alec gasps, finding his voice, trying again, “Magnus.”

“Yes, yes, I’m here, Alexander, I’m here, I’ll protect you, you’re safe,” Magnus mumbles, achingly familiar in a way Alec can’t quite place and promptly stops trying to when Magnus dips down and kisses him, sweet and soft and chaste. Alec shudders, his hand against Magnus’ shoulder and while he doesn’t dare pull him down, he spreads his fingers, laying claim to as much as he dares.

Impossibly, he gets another kiss after the first, Magnus pulling back long enough to breathe deeply, press his lips against Alec's cheek for a flash before kissing him proper again. This time he takes his time, Alec attempting to keep up, mimic what he can as he basks in the wonder that is Magnus’ affection.

“Magnus,” Alec whispers when Magnus pulls away, Alec’s hand slipping down his arm back to the crook of his elbow.

“Yes,” Magnus agrees, his hand running down Alec’s bare side, stopping before the bandages begin and turning back. His eyes meet Alec’s, crinkled to crow’s feet as he smiles. “Yes.”


End file.
